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Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

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Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#191

Post by dang »

xnull2guest wrote: post #82

In the United States, it is illegal to portray the assassination of a president. Handling topics of National Security, such as Pearl Harbor, must be screened and if needed edited by National Security personnel. Close partnership and collective ownership of media production facilities has given us movies with fake narratives like the Jessica Lynch story, Zero Dark Thirty, etc.

We've banned this account for political trolling and ignoring our request not to do this.

Political flamewars are not welcome here. Taking threads on partisan or ideological or nationalist tangents and then stoking flames is not allowed.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13323786 and marked it off-topic.

Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#192

Post by Zak »

ascagnel_ wrote: post #176
Zak wrote: post #55

This is one of the more compelling arguments I've seen for allowing sideloading apart from the obvious philosophical point about users having ultimate control over devices they own.

Not really -- the app is just a way to view content that's loaded from a remote server, and the remote server has also been blocked.

They had evidently worked out a bypass for that in the app that the government had been unable to block at that point.

Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#193

Post by anigbrowl »

retSava wrote: post #169
anigbrowl wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That third link is fascinating - not just for he insights into how Chinese censors indirectly guide producers, but also for the lack of ironic detachment and self-awareness shown by the American analysts, eg Red Dawn, a remake of a 1980s action movie about a Soviet invasion of the United States, was originally shot featuring China as the antagonist invading the United States. According to Mr. Shiao, however, the Chin…

Can you tell me/us a little about that youtube link? I looked at it and it's all in chinese/mandarin so can't really understand much. A small skip forward showed Gorbatjev and Yeltsin in some kind of parlamentiary setting and the audience laughing loudly. I'm very curious now.

Oh sorry! It's a Chinese propaganda 'documentary' put out by the Defense Ministry of the PRC. I did look for a subtitled/captioned version but no luck, though you can find rough transcripts on other pages.

Essentially it extrapolates from an (apparently genuine) GIA document produced during the 1990s, laying out a rough 'recipe' for turning a country towards western democracy by cultural, institutional, and political influence (or subversion, depending on your point of view) - essentially the 'soft power' approach of American diplomacy, backed up by the 90s-era conviction that we'd entered the 'end of history' following the fall of the USSR and that it was only a matter of time before every country switched to democracy and free markets because That's What Works. So this film is 50% a review of history from the Chinese and communist perspectives (worth remembering that Chinese history goes back ~5000 years so they see Marxism as a political technology rather than an identity), and 50% a how-to guide on spotting insidious Western cultural viruses.

Amusingly enough some of their complaints overlap with the complaints of western conservatives about 'cultural Marxism' which alleges that the entertainment industry is bent on unmaking national social consenses and replacing them with one world globalist tyranny. I wouldn't be surprised to find some films are considered objectionable by both communists and conservatives.

Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#194

Post by jwtadvice »

argonaut wrote: post #39
jwtadvice wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nah, the "fake news" filters make it hard to post the content, make it hard to reshare the content, make it less likely to show up in feeds, and mark it so that it is less likely to be read.

I hold governments to a higher standard than companies.

Given that the same people circulate between them, and they work together on a regular basis, and they both are critical to the survival of the society that exists today: I hold them to the same high standard.

I don't give breaks to golden parachutes or to lobbied appointments.

Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#196

Post by DanBC »

nradov wrote: post #148
gbog wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The American film industry is also a huge propaganda machine which is aimed at consolidating western cultural dominance over the world, expect it's not western culture anymore, it's just the U.S. Entertainment industry. In the movie and cartoon sectors only the Indians, the French and the Japanese can have a tiny slice of the cake, the Chinese have nothing. So it's the only survival path for them as an original form…

Nonsense. Since around 1970 the American film industry isn't aimed at anything more than making a profit (with an occasional bit of art for art's sake). Any propaganda effect is entirely incidental.

There are many US movies that involve military themes that are made with the assistance of the US military. It's not surprising that the US military chooses which films it works with. So, if you want a US aircraft carrier in your film you're going to either use CGI (relatively recently available for most films) or you're going to use a script that doesn't show the US in a bad light.

This isn't overt propaganda in the traditional sense, but the effect is the same.

Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#197

Post by verylittlemeat »

igravious wrote: post #163
PakG1 wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 'Captain Phillips' executive identified the tone of the film as a source of discomfort for censors, particularly “the big Military machine of the U.S. saving one U.S. citizen. China would never do the same and in no way would want to promote this idea.” I was watching Argo on my Chinese IPTV streaming service in Shenzhen with my Chinese roommate and my roommate was blown away by the idea that the movie was based on…

Those six were no ordinary citizens, they were diplomats. Argo is a deeply troubling film. From the one-dimensionality of the Iranians to the complete lack of historical context ignoring prior US meddling and interfering in internal Iranian affairs[1]. The involvement of the CIA in the production[2]. The historical inaccuracies of the film[3]. The timing of the release of the film given Iranian-Western relations over…

Thanks for this comment it perfectly describes the way I felt when I watched Argo.

Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#198

Post by int_19h »

RyanHamilton wrote: post #168
int_19h wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Letting people watch all US movies without a filter is effectively letting US set the cultural standards and values. No, it's letting the people set the cultural standards and values, by deciding what to watch and what not to watch.

> letting the people set the cultural standards and values, by deciding what to watch and what not to watch. If you believe that is how things work I think you may be being naive. "deciding" would depend on film budget (hire stars / pay for special effects), contractual agreements with vendors e.g. tv stations to play that content and advertising. How many people truly decided to have coca cola, mcdonalds and wear ni…

In essence, you are arguing that people aren't smart enough (or are otherwise too prone to being manipulated) to decide for themselves in general, and if they're allowed to, then their decision-making process will be manipulated by some much smaller group of people.

Assuming that is okay for a moment. Your solution to that is to give another small group of people the power to explicitly override that decision-making, by fiat, without even having to go through the motions of convincing propaganda.

Which is better how exactly? Because this latter small group of people will be "benevolent dictators", acting in the larger group's best interests even as they override its decisions? They certainly claim to be that, but why should we believe them over the other guys?

Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#199

Post by xnull2guest »

dang wrote: post #191
xnull2guest wrote: post #82

In the United States, it is illegal to portray the assassination of a president. Handling topics of National Security, such as Pearl Harbor, must be screened and if needed edited by National Security personnel. Close partnership and collective ownership of media production facilities has given us movies with fake narratives like the Jessica Lynch story, Zero Dark Thirty, etc.

We've banned this account for political trolling and ignoring our request not to do this. Political flamewars are not welcome here. Taking threads on partisan or ideological or nationalist tangents and then stoking flames is not allowed. We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13323786 and marked it off-topic.

I do not political troll.

You are censoring me.

If you would like, I would speak with you or other mods on the phone.

Re: Apple Removes New York Times Apps from iTunes Store in China

#200

Post by gergles »

ascagnel_ wrote: post #175
gergles wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as you don't mind reloading the app every week...

Apps you compile, sign, and install yourself don't expire.

As far as I know this is only with a paid developer certificate; if you are using the free one with Xcode, they require you to reinstall them every 7 days.
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